


Later, mate!

by Smowkie



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, College Student Stiles, Feral Derek, Kidnapped Stiles, M/M, Mates, POV Derek, Parent Derek Hale, Pierced Stiles, Professor Derek Hale, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Tattooed Stiles Stilinski, Werewolf Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 08:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13267605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smowkie/pseuds/Smowkie
Summary: Derek looked at the time and sighed. One more hour until he could go pick up Alex and go home. It was Friday, and Fridays were their nights, so they were going to eat Chinese food and watch Beauty and the Beast for the thousand time and probably play a game together, and he couldn’t wait.Someone knocked on his open door and he startled a little as he was pulled out of his head. Stiles smiled at him from the doorway.”Hey, professor Hale,” he said.”Mr Stilinski,” Derek said and tried to keep his smile professionally polite.Every time he talked to Stiles he had to remind himself that he was his student, that while he was 18, and legal in that aspect, he was still ten years younger than Derek, Sheriff Stilinski’s son, and again, his student.





	Later, mate!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rieraclaelin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rieraclaelin/gifts).



> A late Christmas present for the lovely and the best Jessie! ♥ Thank you so much for the present, and I hope you enjoy this mess a little at least! xD ♥
> 
>  
> 
> English is not my first language and this is unbetaed. Any mistakes are my own, please leave them alone. =)

• **•** • _**prologue - february**_ • **•** •

Alexandra was so tiny, so fragile, in Derek’s arms, and uncertainty and worry welled up inside of him as he watched her.

“What if I fuck up, mom?” he asked.

“It’s gonna be fine, honey,” Talia said. “No one is perfect, you’re gonna make mistakes, and that’s okay. The important thing is that you’re gonna be a great dad, you already are, and we’re here for you, we’ll help you, you’re not alone.”

“I almost got you all killed,” Derek whispered and he looked at Talia as tears gathered in his eyes. “I fucked up so badly you almost _died_.”

“Oh, Derek,” Talia said softly as she put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him a little closer. “Kate manipulated you, that’s not your fault, if anything it’s mine for not seeing it, but you got there in time, you saved us.”

Derek swallowed roughly and looked down at Alexandra. Even though she was barely even a month old she already had the thick dark hair of the Hales, and Talia said she looked just like him, like he had at that age. He wondered if she’d look like Kate as she grew up, if he’d look at his daughter and see the woman who manipulated and abused him and tried to kill his family, and he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against Talia, who put her other arm around him and pressed a kiss to his hair.

“She’s in jail and she’s not coming out for a long time,” she said and he nodded.

“I know,” he whispered.

“You and Alexandra are gonna be fine, you’re gonna be a great dad, and I’m gonna be an awesome grandma,” she said and he smiled a little.

“You’re a grandma,” he said and looked at her.

“I’m a grandma, how awesome is that?”

“You’re gonna be the coolest grandma,” he said and looked down at Alexandra.

He had only been 18 for a couple of months and he was sorely unprepared to be a father, but he had wanted her since he found out Kate was pregnant and he had loved her since the first time he heard her heartbeat in the courtroom. He hadn’t known it was possible to love someone so much, it felt like his heart would burst with is when he looked at her, and while he sometimes was overwhelmed with doubt he had his family, his pack. They’d be okay.

 

• **•** • _**ten years later (almost) - october**_ • **•** •

Derek looked at the time and sighed. One more hour until he could go pick up Alex and go home. It was Friday, and Fridays were their nights, so they were going to eat Chinese food and watch Beauty and the Beast for the thousand time and probably play a game together, and he couldn’t wait.

Someone knocked on his open door and he startled a little as he was pulled out of his head. Stiles smiled at him from the doorway.

”Hey, professor Hale,” he said.

”Mr Stilinski,” Derek said and tried to keep his smile professionally polite.

Every time he talked to Stiles he had to remind himself that he was his student, that while he was 18, and legal in that aspect, he was still ten years younger than Derek, Sheriff Stilinski’s son, and again, his student. Stiles didn’t make it easy on him though, not at all. He was bright, super smart, he asked interesting and intelligent questions, he challenged Derek as a professor, as a teacher, he was funny in a relaxed way and far too easy to talk to. He was also gorgeous, had his arms filled with tattoos that he often showed off by pulling his shirts up to reveal his forearms, which were distractingly beautiful by the way, he always had that obscenely long neck on display, and on top of it all he blatantly flirted with Derek all the time.

“I have a question about the paper,” Stiles said and Derek gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. Stiles sat down and got a string folder from his backpack, then he smiled at Derek and leaned back in the chair.

”What can I do for you?” Derek asked.

”You know I’m talking professor Gill’s mythology class too,” Stiles said and Derek nodded. ”Yeah, see, I have a paper in that too, and I wanted to… combine them?”

”You’re gonna have to write both, though,” Derek said with a frown.

”No, yeah, of course, I just mean, it’s so combined, I mean, Norse mythology and the viking era, it’s almost difficult to keep them separated, so I kinda wrote it as one, but all the questions and the required parts are there?”

”I’m not sure I follow,” Derek said, and Stiles fiddled with the ring in his eyebrow as he frowned, then he sighed and righted his glasses before he opened the folder and pulled out a stack of printed pages.

”It’s probably easier if I just show you,” he said and held it out for Derek. ”I stopped myself from making a title page before I had talked to you and professor Gill.”

”Oh,” Derek said as he looked at the table of content.

There were twelve parts, four of which clearly covered the questions for Derek’s paper, five he guessed were for Gill’s, an introduction and a summary, and the list of sources. It looked way more advanced than the short paper he required. He flipped to the next page and started to read the introduction, and when Stiles cleared his throat Derek sheepishly closed it and looked at him.

”I mean, I can just take out the parts that’s for yours and split it up, but-”

”No, this is fine,” Derek interrupted, and he felt his cheeks heat up at Stiles’ smirk. ”This works for me, as long as everything I asked for is in those four parts this is fine. If I have the time I’ll read the rest too, it looks interesting, but the important part for me is that everything’s there, within the word limit, and that you’ve cited the correct sources.” He held the papers out for Stiles. ”You still have almost two weeks though, you do know that?”

”Yeah, it’s just interesting,” Stiles said with a shrug, and Derek smiled.

”It is, yeah,” he said.

There was something about Stiles’ scent that Derek caught sometimes, a barely there scent of something Derek couldn’t place. It made him want to tuck his face against his neck and breathe him in so he could catch it and figure it out. He caught himself looking at Stiles neck and down his collar bones, and he tore his eyes away and cleared his throat.

”Uhm, talk to Gill, and even if she wants it separated I’d like it like it is, but I think she’ll be okay with it, she’s even nerdier than me,” he said and Stiles grinned.

”She has the glasses, she does get extra nerd points for those,” he said and tapped the frames of his own pair. ”I would know.”

He winked at Derek, who groaned internally. Stiles looked nothing like a nerd, he was wearing a threadbare white v-neck under an unbuttoned black and brown checkered shirt, the sleeves pushed up to reveal his tattooed forearms and the leather bracelets he always wore, two thin braided ones and one thicker that had an intricate pattern carved to the surface. He had black jeans on, and black leather boots, he looked like a bad boy more than anything. A very, _very_ pretty bad boy.

”Sorry, we can’t all be as nerdy as you,” Derek said though. ”I guess I could get fake ones, look the part?”

Stiles laughed at that. ”You’ll need more tweed, and elbow patches.”

”I actually think I have a cardigan with elbow patches my sister gave me,” Derek said and Stiles’ heart did a double take and his scent turned a little heady as his eyes drifted down Derek’s torso before flicking back to his eyes.

”Have mercy,” he said, ”I want to actually survive this class.” He winked again, like the asshole he was, then he put the papers back in the folder that he carelessly stuffed down his backpack. ”Thank you though, I’m gonna go see if I can catch professor Gill before she flees for the weekend.”

”You do that, and good luck with the title page,” Derek said.

”Thanks,” Stiles said with a grin, then he got to his feet and put his backpack on, and the movement had his v-neck stretch over his torso, and god, it looked like his nipple was pierced. ”Have a nice weekend, see you monday.”

”You too,” Derek said and smiled as Stiles walked away, then he awkwardly righted his pants that had gone suspiciously tight.

Stiles was his student, Derek really needed to remember that.

He spent the rest of the hour trying not to think about how very strong and capable Stiles’ hands looked, and how they would feel as he gripped Derek’s hips, oh god, Stiles was his _student_ , he was closer to Derek’s daughter’s age than he was to Derek’s.

 

• **•** • _**december**_ • **•** •

It was easier said than done to remember that, in fact it only got more difficult as he steadily got to know Stiles. When Derek read the paper on the viking era and norse mythology he felt himself falling in love, and every time Stiles so much as smiled at him he fell deeper.

Derek was sitting in a coffee shop on campus grading papers when he heard Stiles enter and walk up to the counter. He looked up at him and saw him grin at Derek before turning to the barista to order. Derek went back to grading his papers, but when Stiles’ Christmas spiced monstrosity was done he came over to Derek’s table.

”Hey, professor Hale,” he said, and the way he said that should not be so tempting, people called Derek that all the time, ”mind if I join you?”

”Not at all,” Derek said and gestured to the empty chair across the table, and Stiles beamed as he shrugged off his leather jacket and sat down.

”How’s it going? Are we all a bunch of hopeless losers?” he asked and nodded towards the pile of papers, and Derek smiled.

”So far, no, but I haven’t gotten to yours yet,” he said and Stiles laughed.

It was too easy to talk to Stiles, and Derek soon found himself talking about his and Alex’s plans for the holidays. Stiles got something soft in his eyes whenever he talked about her, and he always smiled and asked more, and, well, Derek was a dad and he adored his daughter, it wasn’t very hard to get him to talk about her.

Stiles talked too, about being excited to meet friends that had moved away for school, but were coming back for the holidays, and about his dad and how happy he was that he had started dating again, and how much he liked Melissa.

A few years earlier there had been a rogue alpha in Beacon Hills, and he had bit four teenagers before Talia had managed to stop him with the help of Chris Argent. Scott had been one of those teenagers, so Derek knew who Melissa was too, though he had only met either of them a couple of times. She seemed very nice though, and he was happy for her and Sheriff Stilinski.

He knew Stiles and Scott were friends, but he didn’t know if Stiles or the Sheriff knew about werewolves, and he couldn’t very well ask Stiles about it. He wanted Stiles to know, and he wanted him to be okay with it, but as it were that wasn’t something he would bring up.

After what felt like a short moment Stiles looked at his phone and groaned.

”Well, this has been very nice, but the mythology class starts in ten minutes, so I better get going,” he said and Derek looked at his own phone and realized they had been talking for more than an hour.

”Oh, okay,” Derek said. ”Thanks for giving my brain a break from this.” He gestured to the pile of papers and Stiles smiled.

”Anytime, professor Hale, it has been my pleasure,” he said, and while he winked, his heartbeat was steady.

”See you Thursday,” Derek said and Stiles’ smile grew.

”See you Thursday,” he said, and it sounded like they had agreed to a second date.

It had felt like a date too, Derek realized, and going by Stiles pleased scent and appreciative, and flirty, tone as they spoke, and the way he had constantly leaned a little towards Derek, he thought so too. He smiled one last time at Derek, then he headed out and left Derek sitting there with his jumble of feelings. 

 

• **•** • _**january**_ • **•** •

The next year came, and with it the new courses, and Stiles was in one of Derek’s again. It had only been a few weeks since he saw him last, but it was still really nice to see him again. He beamed at Derek when he saw him at the first class, and he stayed behind just to tell Derek it was good to see him again, before winking obnoxiously as he backed out through the doors, leaving Derek flustered and blushing.

Stiles hadn’t missed a single day, so when he didn’t show up one Monday towards the end of January Derek was a little concerned, especially since he hadn’t called it in, but he didn’t start to worry until he missed the Tuesday too, and when he missed the Thursday, the third of that class in a row Derek was worried enough that it affected his teaching.

He went to the grocery store with Alex after school that day, and as they passed the ready made dinners he saw Sheriff Stilinski looking at the food, and he approached him.

”Sheriff,” he said and John looked up at him. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept properly in days, and Derek’s worry for Stiles spiked.

”Oh, hi, Derek,” John said, his voice a little scratchy.

”I, uh, Stiles haven’t been to class this week, is he..?” He trailed off there, not really daring to ask, and John sighed and dragged a hand over his face.

”He’s missing, we have no idea where he is,” he said, and he stank of worry and fear, and Derek put a hand on Alex’s shoulder, needing the physical reminder she was there. ”He was taken during the weekend, but we just don’t know. Talia is on it though.”

”Mom?” Derek asked in surprise, but John just nodded.

”I have to get back to the station, I don’t really know what to do, but I have to try,” he said and Derek nodded.

”Yes, of course,” he said. ”I hope you find him soon, and I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

”Thanks, Derek,” John said, then he looked down at the food and grabbed one before looking at Derek again. ”Bye, son, bye Alexandra.”

”Bye Sheriff,” Alex said, and John left.

Derek kept Alex close as they finished their shopping, then he drove them home and packed everything away before looking at Alex.

”I need to talk to your grandma, how do you feel about picking up McDonalds on the way there?” he asked and she nodded, clearly sensing his worry.

She was uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, and he felt horrible when he didn’t realize that until they were in the drive through, waiting for their food. He took her hand, and she looked at him and squeezed his hand tight.

”Grandma will find his son,” she said, and Derek nodded and smiled at her, at her unending faith it their family.

”She will,” he agreed.

She kept her tight grip on his hand until they got the food and he gave her the bag.

When they got to his parent house they went to the kitchen to eat, and Talia and Laura joined them. Derek didn’t want to discuss it in front of Alex, but he didn’t want to keep her completely in the dark either, especially since she already knew about it.

”John told me you were looking for Stiles,” he said, and Talia nodded.

”We are, yeah,” she said and Derek raised his eyebrows at her, annoyed that he hadn’t heard anything about it before.

”You’ll find him though, right?” Alex asked.

”We’ll find him,” Talia said, her voice and heartbeat steady.

”Good. The Sheriff looked really upset and tired and he smelled worried and scared,” Alex said and Talia nodded.

”Yeah, it’s hard for him,” she said. ”He lost his wife, Stiles mom, eight years ago, she got sick and died, and now he’s scared he’ll lose Stiles too.”

Alex nodded, but thankfully didn’t stay on the subject, and when they had eaten Derek asked Talia if they could talk in the study.

”Why wasn’t I aware of this?” he asked as soon as they had shut the door behind them.

”Because not many people know about Stiles and we haven’t needed you for the search,” she said and he furrowed his brows.

”Know about Stiles?” he asked and Talia nodded calmly.

”He’s a spark, like his mother was, and their specific kind of magic makes them targets for witches like the one that’s taken him now,” she said and Derek felt like he had been punched.

”I would never-” he started in a weak voice, but Talia interrupted him.

”I know that, Derek, and I absolutely trust you with that knowledge, but John has always asked us to tell as few as possible, this has nothing to do with you,” she said and he nodded as his stomach churned with guilt and fear, fear of not being good enough, at failing again.

”Okay,” he said quietly, and Talia took his hand in both of hers.

”The only ones that’s known before today are me, Laura and Peter,” she said and he looked at her.

”Not dad?”

”No,” she said and he deflated in relief, even as he felt guilty about it. Talia told William everything, and to find out he didn’t know either made Derek actually believe it had nothing to do with him and more to do with respecting John’s wishes, but it still felt bad to be thankful about knowing William was kept in the dark about something.

”Okay,” he said and she nodded.

”We’re most likely gonna have to tell more people now though, and John is aware of that and okay with it, and since Stiles is an adult now it’s his decision about how secret he wants to keep it. Knowing him he’ll want more people to know, he’s pretty damned pleased about being a spark, but this might make him more cautious.”

”His mom?” Derek asked.

”No, she got sick, a form of dementia,” Talia said.

”And the bite?”

”She didn’t want it. By the time they found out she wouldn’t have recovered completely, even with the bite, and she said she was already too affected.” She shrugged a little, like she wasn’t sure. ”It was her decision, made with a clear mind.”

”Okay,” Derek said. ”Now what?”

”We know who it is that’s taken him, but he’s good at hiding his tracks and staying undetected, we suspect Stiles isn’t the first spark he’s taken,” Talia said. ”We are closing in on him though, hopefully we’ll have his location by tomorrow. We might need you for when we go in, are you okay with that?”

”Yes, absolutely,” Derek said a little too fast, and his cheeks heated up as Talia looked at him with her head slightly tilted.

”Good, thank you,” she said and he nodded. She kept watching him though, and Derek squirmed under the scrutiny.

”He’s taking my class,” he said quietly.

”Okay,” she said, then she did that thing where she knew more than she should just by looking at him. ”Don’t ruin your career, if you want each other you can hold on until he’s not your student anymore.”

”I-, he’s ten years younger than me, he’s closer to Alex’s age than mine,” he said.

”I know,” she said and he gestured helplessly. ”Age is just a number though, especially for us, and he will be 19 when the semester is over.”

He knew she had a point, werewolf aging didn’t work as human aging, but ten years still felt like a lot.

 

• **•** •

Derek decided to stay with his pack that night, because werewolves had powers that could be drained too, and his daughter was a werewolf. All the pack didn’t live at his parents house, but Peter and Laura stayed the night too, and he felt safer with his alpha and three other adults to keep Alex safe, even if she was probably the one least likely to be targeted.

He went to work the next day, and Peter promised to drive Alex to and from her school. The day seemed to go on forever, but eventually he was back at his parents house and with his daughter.

Peter and Laura were out when Talia came to Derek and told him they needed to go, and he reluctantly left Alex with William.

When they got to an abandoned building near the edge of town Peter and Laura were already there, as were John and one of his deputies, which perplexed Derek a little. He didn’t get a chance to find out more though, because as soon as they got out of the car Peter quietly told them the witch and Stiles was in there, and that there were two werewolves there too, and then they swiftly split up in two teams and went inside.

Derek, Laura and John sneaked in through the back, but with werewolves on his side the witch already knew they were coming, and they were soon facing an alpha. She attacked them immediately, and Derek and Laura worked together as John stayed back with his gun pointing their way. The alpha pushed Derek back, and before he had even got his balance back she threw Laura across the room. Her head hit the wall with a loud smack, and John fired as the alpha started towards him.

She kept going though and he fired again, but she barely lost momentum and Derek got to them just as she reached out her clawed hand to swipe. He spun her around and she immediately focused on Derek instead, but with two wolfsbane bullets in her chest she was already weaker and slower, and he managed to avoid her first swipe. She didn’t miss the second one though, and her claws tore deep gouges from his shoulder down his chest.

He quickly realized she wasn’t going to stop until she died, and while she was weakened she was still strong and when she clawed down his arm he knew he had to stop her if he wanted to live. He didn’t want to kill her, since he was fairly sure the witch was somehow controlling her, but he really did want to survive the day. She got one more hit in, on the side of his neck, before he managed to tear her throat out. He gagged as she fell lifeless to the floor, and when the alpha powers rushed through him he barely managed to not throw up.

John went over to Laura the moment the alpha went down, and when Derek looked at them he had his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse.

“She’ll be okay,” Derek rasped and John looked at him.

“Will you?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” John said, then he started to the next room, towards his son.

Derek followed him, despite the blood still running from the wound on his neck, he could already feel himself stitching together, and stopping the witch and getting Stiles took priority. He heard his mom’s roar, and when he smelled fire his heart picked up and he hurried towards Talia and Peter.

When they got to them the deputy was… on fire? Was he a hellhound? Derek had never met one, but from what he knew they looked like the deputy did right then. He was naked and on fire and he was pushing against the the air above the mountain ash border the witch had in a ring around himself, and it was somehow burning too. The witch was quietly chanting something, somehow keeping the ash active, until John fired from next to Derek. He turned to look at them, then he put a hand over the bullet hole in his chest before slowly falling to the ground. By the time he was lying on the floor his heart was stopped, and Derek immediately looked around for Stiles.

He quickly found him, unconscious on the floor, half naked. His tattoos were pale and he had symbols drawn all over his arms and torso, and he was bruised and wounded. Derek crouched down next to him and John came over too.

“Hey, son,” John said softly and put his hand on Stiles’ cheek, and Stiles’ eyes fluttered before he opened them to look at his dad, then at Derek.

“Dad?” he croaked weakly. “Derek?”

“Oh thank god,” John said.

Knowing Stiles was alive and awake, Derek listened to the others, even as he reached out to take Stiles’ hand. Peter was with Laura, who was awake and sounding upset, and Talia was talking quietly to the deputy, so he focused back on Stiles. John had tears running down his cheeks as he quietly spoke to Stiles, and he was holding Stiles other hand and gently stroking his head.

”Hospital?” Derek asked and both the Stilinski men nodded, so Derek carefully lifted Stiles.

”Ow,” Stiles said quietly.

”Sorry,” Derek said and Stiles smiled weakly at him.

”You came for me, professor Hale,” he said and Derek couldn’t help but smile at the use of his title.

”Yeah,” he said. He wanted nothing more than to take Stiles home and care for him there, make sure nothing bad ever happened to him again, but he carried him out to the cruiser, and when John opened the back door he gently placed him in the car.

”Thank you, Derek,” John said.

”Let me take some pain?” Derek asked Stiles, who wobbly and weakly moved his hand towards Derek, so he took it in both of his and pulled as much as he could.

”Oh, god,” Stiles groaned. ”Thank you.”

“Your tattoos,” Derek said. “What’s… are they magic?”

Stiles looked down at his forearm, so Derek did too, and the leaves of one of the trees fluttered a little and the fox standing in front of it turned around once and laid down.

“They help channel my spark, keep it focused, and some make it stronger,” Stiles said.

“Wow,” Derek breathed quietly, and Stiles grinned weakly at him.

“Cool, huh?”

“Very cool.”

Derek stayed where he was until the deputy, dressed again in a clean uniform, got in the driver's seat of the cruiser as John got in next to Stiles, then he reluctantly let go. Stiles watched him as he gently closed the door, and when Derek gave him a small smile through the window he softly smiled back before turning to his dad as they drove off.

”Derek?” Talia said softly and he twitched and turned to look at her guiltily. ”Are you okay?”

”Yeah,” he croaked, then he cleared his throat and tried again. ”Yeah.”

”Show me your eyes?” she asked gently, and he flashed them for her without thinking. She flashed her own back at him as she smiled and cupped his cheek. ”They look good on you.”

He remembered they would be red, and he closed them as he sucked in a breath. He was an alpha.

”Mom,” he whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

 

• **•** • _**february**_ • **•** •

Derek and Alex stayed with his parents over the weekend, and he talked to Talia a lot. He found out the deputy, Jordan Parrish, indeed was a hellhound, and that while Talia knew of him that had been the first time she met him properly and fought next to him. They also talked about Derek being an alpha and how that would affect the pack, and if they should split into two packs or not. Nothing was set in stone when the weekend was over, but he felt more relaxed about it, and he didn’t fear losing his family.

When he got back to work he wasn’t surprised to hear Stiles wouldn’t be back for at least a week. In the end he was gone two weeks, and when he came back it was like he had been muted. He was quiet, his smiles were small and few, and he limped slightly. Derek hated it.

After the first class Derek asked Stiles to stay, and Stiles wordlessly did.

”How are you?” Derek asked.

”I’m okay,” Stiles said and Derek raised his eyebrows. ”No, seriously, I’m okay. My leg is getting better, the limp will probably be gone in a week or so, most of the bruises and smaller wounds are healed, my spark is almost at full force-,” he gestured to his tattoos that were strong and vibrant again, and as Derek watched the fox opened his mouth in a grin at him, “-I really am okay, I just… I don’t know, I’m just spooked I guess.”

”Understandable,” Derek said. ”Is there anything I can do?”

”Give me an extra week on the paper?”

”Of course,” Derek said.

”I’ll stop by during your office hours in a few days too, to make sure I know what I’ve missed,” Stiles said.

”Sure. I’ll mail you a summary of it, too.”

”That’d be great,” Stiles said.

”I’ll do that today, and you come by whenever you need,” Derek said. ”You’re one of my brightest students, and I really don’t want your grades to suffer because of what happened.”

”Thanks, professor Hale,” Stiles said softly and Derek’s cheeks heated up.

”No problems,” he said.

”It’s nice seeing you again,” Stiles said. ”Thanks for helping getting me out, and, uh, I don’t know or it’s congrats or sorry about the new status?”

”I don’t really know either, not yet, but thanks,” Derek said. ”It’s nice seeing you too, and don’t hesitate to ask if there’s anything I can do.”

Stiles smile was soft, and not at all the flirty one he used to always give Derek.

”Thanks,” he said.

 

• **•** • _**march**_ • **•** •

Derek had said goodnight to Alex no more than five minutes before and she had just fallen asleep when he heard a car in his driveway. He opened the front door and saw Stiles climb out of a Jeep.

”Hey,” Stiles said quietly as he walked up to Derek.

”Hi. What’s wrong?”

Through all their flirting, Stiles had never visited him at home, and Derek was torn between happy that he was there and anxious about what could happen, but Stiles looked tired and sad, like he hadn’t slept properly in days, so Derek silently opened his arms for him, and Stiles immediately stepped into the embrace. He pushed gently at Derek, steered him inside, and Derek obliged and closed the door behind them as he held Stiles close.

”I know I shouldn’t be here, I know you’re my teacher, but I need a distraction, I need you,” Stiles said, then he cupped Derek’s jaw and leaned in to kiss him.

Derek kissed back before he was even consciously aware of it, but then he took Stiles’ face in his hands and pulled back a little.

“We shouldn’t do this, Stiles,” he said and Stiles tucked his face against Derek’s neck. “I’m your teacher, I helped get you out, this isn’t what you need, _I’m_ not what you need.”

“You are, though,” Stiles said and pulled back to look at him. “You’re just what I need.”

“You’re closer to my daughters age than mine, I’m ten years older than you, this isn’t-”

Stiles kissed him again, hard, and he pulled Derek close, and Derek groaned as he kissed back.

“You are what I want, what I need, please, Derek, I know you want it too, please,” Stiles said against his mouth, and how could he ever say no to that?

“God, Stiles,” Derek mumbled, “I want you, I want you so much.”

He kissed back, just as hard, and when Stiles moaned quietly Derek kissed down his neck, that long amazing neck that he had wanted his mouth on for months. Stiles held onto his shoulder as he leaned his head to give Derek better access, and when Derek sucked a bruise right where his shoulder met his neck Stiles grabbed his hair and pressed his body even closer to Derek’s as he hissed softly and the scent of his arousal spiked.

Soon they were kissing again and Derek started to slowly steer them to his bedroom, and when Stiles noticed he grinned against his mouth, only to immediately stumble on nothing. He pressed his face against Derek’s neck as he laughed softly.

“Sorry,” he whispered and Derek smiled and picked him up by his thighs. Stiles quickly wrapped his legs around Derek, and when he looked at him his smile looked more real than anything Derek had seen in weeks.

“Don’t be,” Derek said and leaned in to mouth at his collarbone as he walked them to his bed.

Later Stiles grinned at Derek, then he flopped onto his back and closed his eyes, still smiling broadly, and Derek had to admire how good he looked there, in his bed, his tattoos and piercings on display, and wow, Derek had never known he would be into pierced _dicks_ , but apparently he was. He loved how vibrant his tattoos were against his pale skin, and how strong and healthy he looked, and he especially loved the trail of bruises he had sucked into his skin, from his neck and down to his hip.

Stiles opened his eyes and looked at Derek. “You gonna just look or are you gonna come cuddle?” he asked, and Derek smiled and climbed over to him.

“I could just look, but cuddles sounds nice too,” he said, and Stiles grinned and pulled him in for a soft kiss.

 

• **•** • _**may**_ • **•** •

It became a thing after that. Stiles slowly got back to being his loud and happy self at school, but he didn’t stop showing up at Derek’s house, like he had thought he would. One evening he even asked if he could come by during the day the coming weekend, so he could meet Alex, and while Derek said yes he still worried about it. He hadn’t needed to though, they got along like two peas in a pod and were fast friends. Stiles behaved perfectly around Alex too, never tried anything with Derek while she was around, and he genuinely seemed to love hanging out with her. Alex in turn adored Stiles and often asked when they would meet him again.

As soon as Alex was asleep though Stiles was all over Derek, and he smelled so _happy_ all the time. Derek didn’t even think about saying no, even though he knew what he risked by being with him. He couldn’t help himself, and he didn’t _want_ to help himself either, he wanted Stiles, and he could have him, so he took what he could get for as long as he did. He still thought about it occasionally though, about the risk they took and if Stiles wanted him as much as he wanted Stiles. He wanted to ask, but he was scared, scared to find out he was still just a distraction for Stiles, or that it was just a fling or something temporary. He wanted Stiles, he wanted him long term, and Stiles acted like that’s what he wanted too, but Derek was still too scared to ask.

Towards the end of the semester Stiles wore a scarf to one of Derek’s classes, a scarf that Derek knew was there to hide a hickey he, uhm, _accidentally_ left on his neck the night before. Stiles had quietly sworn at him after, but his happy scent and big smile had been a better indicator on how he actually felt about it, and Derek loved seeing it there, loved marking Stiles, and he wanted everyone to see it, to see that Stiles was his.

Stiles was just as flirty as ever at school, and just as brilliant. He behaved as he always had though, nothing changed between them there, and Derek treated Stiles like he would any student. That didn’t mean he wasn’t affected by his constant flirting though, especially since he knew how good Stiles felt. As he sat there, winking and smiling and being generally brilliant he kept fiddling with the scarf, and Derek had to watch him press his fingers to the bruise, had to _smell_ just how much it affected Stiles, and he was glad there weren’t any other werewolves in the classroom. It wasn’t the first time he had to stay behind his desk to not accidentally show the whole class just how affected he was himself.

Stiles asked him about it when he got to Derek’s house that night, grinning as always.

“It’s the damned _scarf_ ,” Derek said and ran his nose over Stiles’ neck. “And you kept touching your neck, smelling so goddamn horny.”

“It’s your fault I had to wear it,” Stiles said and Derek mouthed at the hickey.

“Sorry,” he said and pressed a soft kiss to it.

“I’m not, I just wish I didn’t have to hide it,” Stiles said and Derek groaned before picking Stiles up to take him to bed.

“I want everyone to know, to see you’re mine,” he said, his voice low and huskier than usual, and Stiles grinned at him.

“Yeah?” he asked and Derek put him down on the bed with a nod, a little nervous he had gone too far. “Good. How about I promise I won’t take anymore of your classes, no matter how interesting they sound? Then you can mark me up to your heart’s delight.”

“Yeah?” Derek asked as Stiles pulled him down onto the bed so he could straddle him

“Yeah,” Stiles said and latched onto Derek’s neck to leave his own mark. They didn’t last long, and even though Derek could control his healing a little they were mostly gone by the morning, leaving Derek standing by the bathroom mirror with his fingers pressed to where the marks had been, wishing they were still there, that he could still feel them.

 

• **•** • _**june**_ • **•** •

The other alpha said something again and Derek growled with his hackles up. He tried to attack her again, but the invisible wall stopped him again, and he snarled. He didn’t know where his child was, where his pack was, and the other alpha kept talking. He bounced against the wall again, then he tried to dig instead, but the floor was too hard, even the sharp claws on his paws couldn’t get through it. The fear in his belly was cold and almost painful and he needed to get to his child, he needed to know she was safe, and he wanted to kill the others for keeping her from him. He was snarling and growling and whenever anyone moved he snapped his teeth, even though he couldn’t reach them.

“Derek?” he heard suddenly and he turned to look at who was talking. “Hey, you’re okay, it’s okay,” he said and Derek whined, he wanted him with him, he wanted his pack, his _mate_ with him.

The alpha said something again, and Derek growled and threw himself at her, but once again he was stopped by the invisible wall, and he snarled as he got back to his feet and tried again, she was too close to him, he was Derek’s, not anyone else's.

“Everybody out,” he said, and the others spoke too, then someone got close to him and he ducked away from them as Derek growled and tried to get past the invisible wall again. “No, look at him, just go, leave him alone.” He turned to Derek and walked closer to him. “You’re okay, it’s gonna be fine, I just need these stubborn people to leave so you can calm down a little, then I’m going to get this pesky curse off you and you can see Alex again.”

Derek whined and tried to get closer to him, but the damned wall was still in the way and he scratched at the floor as he whimpered, until the alpha spoke again and he growled and tried to get to her.

“Go, now,” he said, and the others finally started to leave. When the last one was gone Derek pressed himself against the invisible wall and whined, begging for him to come to him. “I’m coming, you’re okay.”

He came up to Derek and crouched down, and Derek pushed his head against his chest.

“Hey there, you’re looking awfully hairy today, professor Hale,” he said as he stroked Derek’s neck and head, and Derek whined again because he smelled worried and unhappy, and it scared Derek. He was scared for his child too, she wasn’t there and he was afraid something would happen to her when there was another alpha so close.

“You’re gonna be okay, Derek,” he said quietly. “You hear me? You’re gonna be okay, you have to be okay, because I can’t lose you, okay? I love you, and I can’t lose you, so I’m gonna get this curse off you and you’re gonna be okay.”

Derek whined and pressed himself against him, and he clung tightly to Derek’s scruff. Something changed, it felt like the air around them charged, and his hands stilled on Derek, who stayed still too, even as he whined quietly. 

“Talia, can you please get Alex?” he said loudly after a while, and Derek stiffened and growled lowly as he heard the alpha talk somewhere close. “He’s fine, but he’s still too locked up, I think it’d help if she was here, if he knew she was okay.” He lowered his voice and held his face against Derek’s fur as he continued, “It’s okay, Derek, she’s fine, and you’ll be fine soon too, I promise, but I need you to relax more, to not be as scared.”

“Dad?” came a quiet voice and Derek turned to it and saw his child. He got out of his grip and ran to her, only to be smacked back by the invisible wall, and he whined.

“Come on in, Alex, he’s okay, he’s not really thinking straight right now and he’s scared you’re hurt. He can’t get past the mountain ash though, but if you get closer you’ll see he just wants to be close to you.”

She slowly walked towards them and Derek whined and scratched the floor, and when she crouched down on the other side of the wall he pressed his face against it and tried to get through to her.

“I’m okay, dad,” she said and Derek whined. He wanted to touch her, to smell her. “I want to go in to him.”

“Okay,” he said and then the wall was gone and Derek pressed himself against his child, his pack, his _family_ , and he whined as he sniffed her to make sure she was okay.

“I’m okay, dad, I’m okay,” she said and hugged him tight.

“There we go, good, much better,” he said, then that charge was there again.

Derek’s head cleared in increments, and after a moment he felt the shift take over. When he was fully human again he wrapped Alex up in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, honey, I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay, dad, you’re okay now,” she said and he pulled back to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, dad,” she said with a smile, and Derek looked at Stiles.

“Thank you,” he said, and Stiles smiled.

“Anytime, professor Hale,” he said with a wink.

 

Later that night, when Derek had apologized to his family and spent a couple hours just holding and hugging Alex, he and Stiles were in Derek’s bed, curled up close together. He had his head on Stiles’ shoulder, and Stiles was distractedly playing with Derek’s hair as they talked about what had happened that day. Derek had been out running when the brother of the witch who tried to steal Stiles’ spark had cursed Derek as part some kind of revenge plan. He had been stopped before he could do much else and Chris Argent had managed to contain Derek in the Hale’s garage, and no one had been hurt in a way that wasn’t physically healed a few minutes later.

The curse had forced the wolf on Derek and his mind had gone feral, he had seen his own mother as a threat and he hadn’t even understood what she said to him, but he understood Stiles. That he understood Alex wasn’t very surprising, she was his daughter, he loved her more than anyone and she was the most important to him, no exceptions. He loved Stiles too, absolutely, but they had only started to get to know each other less than a year earlier, and Derek had a hard time believing he loved Stiles more than his own mom or dad. That kind of only left one other explanation to it.

”By the way, I love you too,” he said and Stiles pressed his smile against Derek’s forehead.

”I’m glad,” he said. Derek moved up on an elbow so he could look down on Stiles, who frowned at him and stroked his thumb over Derek’s eyebrows. ”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing,” Derek said and he could feel how forced his smile looked, and Stiles smelled a little worried as he looked up at him. ”I don’t think it’s wrong, I hope it’s not, but I’m… scared. To talk about it.”

”Okay,” Stiles said, slowly and softly. ”Will you tell me anyway?”

Derek nodded and swallowed roughly, then he looked Stiles in the eyes. ”I’m fairly sure we’re mates.”

He should know better than to doubt Stiles though, he had a tendency to surprise him and he did that time too. His frown slowly morphed into a smile as his scent went from worried to happy, and Derek couldn’t help but smile too.

”Yeah?” Stiles asked, and Derek nodded.

”I, uh, yeah,” he said.

”Are you okay with that? Is that something you want?” Stiles asked.

”Yes, I am, it is,” Derek said and Stiles smile grew.

”Awesome,” he said. ”Me too.”

Derek breathed out and huffed a little laugh. ”Oh, thank god,” he said and Stiles grabbed his head and pulled him down for a kiss.

 

• **•** • _**epilogue - a year later**_ • **•** •

Alex was sleeping against Derek’s side, she had been tired after the days solstice celebrations but since he had told her she could be up as late as she wanted she didn’t want to go to bed out of pure stubbornness. Eventually he had sat down on the couch with her and she had fallen asleep against him in minutes, and he had stayed there, just watched her sleep.

“Derek, babe, honeybun, love of my life?” Stiles asked as he came in through the front door.

“In here,” Derek said as loudly as he dared to not wake Alex up.

“Oh, hey,” Stiles said when he saw them on the couch.

“Hi,” Derek said and took Stiles’ hand to press a kiss to it. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just missed you,” Stiles said as he sat down and leaned in for a soft peck on the mouth.

“She could barely stand because she was so tired, so I suggested we sit here and talk a little,” Derek said. “It worked.”

“I can see that,” Stiles said with a soft smile. “I think dad and Melissa are headed home soon.”

“Scott and Isaac going with them?” Derek asked and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, Isaac looks about as awake as Alex,” he said with a grin.

Scott and Isaac, another of the ones that had been bitten by the rogue alpha, had moved from Talia’s to Derek’s pack a few months back, he was pretty sure it was mostly for Stiles, but he was okay with that. Stiles had asked Derek if he would be okay with him being Derek’s emissary, and when he, obviously, said yes Stiles had begun training with Deaton and Talia for it. Derek had spent that first summer asking Talia _so many questions_ , but by the time the schools started in the fall they were both fairly confident in their roles. More confident in each other than in themselves, but still.

Then Scott, who had never really officially joined Talia’s pack, came and asked if he could join their pack, and a few weeks later Isaac had talked to Stiles about it, but been too scared to offend Talia to ask her himself. She was fine with it, she wanted both their packs to be happy, and if that’s what they all wanted then she was just glad they found the places they wanted to be in. Cora had been the first to join Derek though, aside from Alex and Stiles, and she was fiercely protective of him while still constantly complaining, Derek didn’t really know how it worked, but it was Cora. He wasn’t surprised, she was his sister and claimed it was her job. He was glad though, she would be an excellent right hand for him, like Peter was for Talia.

Stiles cuddled up against Derek’s side and they sat in silence for a little. It was good, sitting like that, his mate on one side and his daughter on his other, and he pressed a kiss to Stiles’ head.

”So, Alex caught me off guard earlier,” Derek said, and Stiles hummed in question. “When we sat down to talk, she asked if we were going to have kids.” Stiles straightened up a little so he could look at Derek with huge eyes, and Derek shrugged. “I told her we haven’t talked about it, but she said she hoped we would, she wants siblings.”

Stiles looked at Alex, then back at Derek. “Really?”

“Yeah, I was a bit surprised. I honestly haven’t thought about it, it was just her and me for so long, I kind of accepted that she’d be my only child without ever really thinking about it?”

“ _Do_ you want more kids?” Stiles asked, and Derek shrugged again.

“I mean, yeah, if you do?”

“I do, I really do, but maybe not just yet? In a couple of years, when I’m done with school?” Stiles said and Derek smiled at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, then he looked at Alex as he continued. “I don’t want her to feel… left out, though? I don’t think any of us will ever see me as her dad, but I don’t want us to have kids if that makes her feel less important?”

“Yeah, I know,” Derek said. “I don’t think she will though, you’ve always included her and you’re not gonna stop that just because you have your own kids.”

“No, I would never, no, but still, like you said, it’s been only you two for so long, and then I come along and take your time from her, and if we get kids they’ll take even more. She’ll always be Alex, she’ll always be so important, but it’s a big step, for all of us.”

“Well, it’s no rush, right? Like you said, in a couple of years, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about it, and you can talk to her too, tell her how you feel, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it and I’m sure she can reassure you a little too,” Derek said.

“Yeah,” Stiles said, then he smiled softly at Derek. “It’d be so nice though. Think we can convince Cora to surrogate?”

Derek had to stifle the bark of laughter that wanted out at that, and Stiles grinned at him.

“Yeah, no, that’s not gonna happen, sorry,” he said and Stiles shrugged.

“Worth a shot,” he said. “Seriously though, for me adoption is a good option. Think there are any werewolf kids out there in need of new parents?”

“I’m sure there are,” Derek said, and Stiles cuddled up against his side again.

He hadn’t lied when he said he hadn’t thought about it until Alex asked him, and he definitely hadn’t thought about _how_ they would have kids. Adoption was a good option though, and as he sat there thinking about it it sounded better and better for each passing second.

“How many?” he asked and Stiles hummed a little.

“Two? Five? I don’t really know, more than just one though, I know it’ll never be the same because of Alex and the packs being so close with cousins and stuff, but I don’t want an only child, I missed siblings growing up” he said, and Derek smiled against his hair.

“We’ll figure it out in time,” he said. “And when it’s time maybe start with one and go from there?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” Stiles said.

They stayed where they were for a while more, until Talia came inside too. She smiled softly at them from the doorway.

“There you are,” she said, then she looked at Stiles. “Your dad is getting ready to leave.”

“Oh, okay, thanks,” Stiles said. He pressed a kiss to Derek’s cheek before getting up from the couch. “Later, mate.”

Talia laughed quietly at Stiles’ bad australian accent, and Derek shook his head with a smile as Stiles grinned at him.

“Want me to come out, say goodbye?” Derek asked.

“Nah, they’ll be fine, I’ll tell them you said goodbye,” Stiles said.

“Okay, thanks.”

He watched as Stiles left and then as Talia sat down on his vacated spot.

”Still too stubborn to go to bed?” she asked with a look to Alex.

”Yeah, I fear for her teenage years,” Derek said and Talia laughed quietly.

”I’m so proud of you,” she said after a moment, and Derek looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

”Thank you?” he said, confused, and she smiled again.

”You’re doing such a good job, with everything, not only her,” she said and Derek looked at Alex instead. ”You’re an amazing father, a just as amazing alpha, a great teacher, and if Stiles bragging is anything to go by you’re an amazing mate too.”

Derek blushed and put a hand over his eyes. ”Oh god,” he said and Talia laughed quietly again.

”I’m not talking about _that_ , Derek, he never says anything about that when I can hear him,” she said and he breathed out in relief and moved his hand to look at her. ”He does talk about how good you are though, at the slightest prompting he’ll brag about what a perfect boyfriend you are. Or what a great alpha you are, or teacher, dad, friend, man, werewolf… if I didn’t know better I’d think he has a crush on you.”

She winked at him and he huffed a quiet laugh before looking towards where he could hear Stiles talk to the rest of their packs, even though he couldn’t see him.

”He does that?” he asked and looked back at his mom.

”Yeah, he does,” she said softly. ”The rest of your pack do too, not as much as Stiles, but they do.”

”Yeah?” Derek asked and she nodded. ”I always feel like I’m just winging everything, like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

”It still feels like that at times for me too,” Talia said, ”but it’s not the impression I get from the others, they all say you’re steady and calm.”

”I try to be,” Derek said. ”I try to be like you, calm and sure, confident. I don’t feel it though.”

”You’re doing great, and it’ll get easier, trust me. I don’t have a manual for every occasion, I have to weigh pros and cons for every decision I make that will affect my pack, but with practice and a pack that trusts you it gets easier for every year that pass.”

”Thanks,” Derek said.

His was a small pack, only five werewolves and their emissary, but to Derek it was more than enough, he was a new alpha and they would most likely expand with time, either by new adult werewolves joining them or when they got families. When he and Stiles adopted.

“Alex told me tonight she wants me and Stiles to have kids so she’ll have siblings,” he said.

“Yeah?” Talia asked.

“Yeah, I told Stiles, and he wants that later, when he’s finished school,” he said. “It’s… it feels unreal to think it even, I haven’t really had time to process it yet, but I want that.”

“Well, I, for one, look forward to it. I only have three grandkids so far, and considering I have five kids that’s way too few,” she said with a wink and Derek smiled at her.

“Yeah, at least ten, right?”

“At least,” she agreed.

Derek leaned his head on her shoulder and she put a hand in his hair and carded her fingers through it.

“Thank you, for everything,” Derek said and Talia pressed a kiss to his head.

“It’s been my pleasure,” she said softly. “You’re my kid.”

He huffed a soft laugh at that. “I’ll be thirty this year.”

“Still my kid,” Talia said.

“Yeah. Love you, mom.”

“Love you too, honey.”

**Author's Note:**

> If I've missed any tags, please let me know!
> 
> Thanks for reading! ♥


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